UTAH UTES

Former Utah WBB Star Alissa Pili Is One Of Many Headliners In 2024 WNBA Draft

Apr 15, 2024, 7:16 PM | Updated: 7:18 pm

SALT LAKE CITY – The popularity of women’s basketball is on the rise thanks to a surge of name-brand talent such as Utah women’s basketball star Alissa Pili.

Pili, along with the likes of Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, and Kamilla Cardoso among others helped make the women’s college game must-see basketball the past few seasons.

They all also headlined the 2024 WNBA Draft and there is hope the impact they have had in college will follow them to the pros.

 

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The former Utah talent sat with KSL Sports before heading to New York to discuss the impact she thinks she and her draft class will have on the WNBA.

Alissa Pili Believes 2024 WNBA Draft Class Can Do Something Special

Women’s sports- particularly basketball, is gaining momentum.

The college game alone saw an uptick in interest with the women’s final drawing a record-breaking 18.9 million viewers compared to the men’s 14.82 million in 2024.

 

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Now the women who have been drawing all of that interest are heading to the WNBA where the hope is that their popularity will continue to grow.

For Pili, what sets this draft class apart from others in the past is media attention in combination with undeniable talent. Because of that, Pili believes she and her classmates will have a special impact on the game moving forward into the WNBA.

 

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“The difference with this class is that we have the chance to do something special in the sense of making our mark as athletes,” Pili said. “Everyone is incredibly talented and it’s going to be fun to see at the next level. Having that media presence, and platform that we do have in inspiring young athletes and things like that- I think that is where it kind of makes it special- where we could do both at the same time.”

Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for KSLsports.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on XInstagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports

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Former Utah WBB Star Alissa Pili Is One Of Many Headliners In 2024 WNBA Draft